Relief efforts continue in Yongshan County, the quake epicenter, with the local government arranging thousands of tents, food and water and quilts to those affected living in temporary shelters.

The quake hit the county, with an epicenter 13 km deep, at 6:40 am on Saturday, affecting 71,200 residents.

21,000 people had to be relocated as the quake left houses flattened, transport suspended and electricity and communication facilities damaged. Forty-eight schools were damaged in six towns although there were no casualties.

More than 1,300 rescuers are searching in debris for trapped victims and helping repair roads.

57 founding members, many of them prominent US allies, will sign into creation the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Monday, the first major global financial instrument independent from the Bretton Woods system.

Representatives of the countries will meet in Beijing on Monday to sign an agreement of the bank, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. All the five BRICS countries are also joining the new infrastructure investment bank.

The agreement on the $100 billion AIIB will then have to be ratified by the parliaments of the founding members, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing in Beijing.

The AIIB is also the first major multilateral development bank in a generation that provides an avenue for China to strengthen its presence in the world’s fastest-growing region.